Here's a little video of Brent saying "Brent Do Dat" and looking really cute.
Click here to download.
This is my first time trying this. The file is less than 1 MB for anyone on dialup. If you have any problems, drop me a line or leave a comment please!
3.30.2007
3.29.2007
A Photoshoot with Fergus the Train
Brent with Fergus, along with the sunrise we watched this morning. Well, I watched it. He was groaning "Sun in eyes, Momma!!".
3.28.2007
Correction
During a bedtime book.
".....and look at that big white bear!"
"Ooooohhhh....cold bear!"
"He's called a Po-lar Bear"
"No.....COLD bear"
"He does live in the cold, but his name is a Polar Bear"
"IT'S A COLD BEAR MOMMA!!!!!"
(sigh) "Cold Bear it is, then"
".....and look at that big white bear!"
"Ooooohhhh....cold bear!"
"He's called a Po-lar Bear"
"No.....COLD bear"
"He does live in the cold, but his name is a Polar Bear"
"IT'S A COLD BEAR MOMMA!!!!!"
(sigh) "Cold Bear it is, then"
Bubbles
Our friend's little girl turned two, and there couldn't have been a better day for a party.Even better, everyone had cameras! So we got some good shots of the kids playing in the bubble making machine.
Now after seeing how much fun he had, I'm more motivated to throw him a true party this year.
3.27.2007
Strawberry Fields
The day is closing in, with the last of the sunset fading behind the treeline. Brent and I walk home after our little journey to visit grandma next door, carrying a fresh box of strawberries. A few seconds after beginning our walk, I see he is sitting down in the tall grass behind me, asking for a bite. "C'mon, honey - we can have some when we get home". He gets up and walks a few more paces, then sits down again quietly.
"You know it's going to be dark soon, right?"
"Mmmm Hmmmmmm"
So we sit together in the grass and watch the night closing in. The frogs begin their singing down at the pond, and the longer we sit, the stronger we hear them. Two large turkey buzzards light atop a tall oak to bed down for the night. We sit quietly and eat our strawberries. At some point he crawls over into my lap, and go from eating, to just sitting. We watch as the breezes blow through the grass and wheat around us. We swat the occasional gnat from the tips of our noses. We watch as the jet flies high above us, next to the first quarter moon, and hear its engines far behind it.
And then we begin our walk again, disturbing the buzzards when we get too close. They angrily beat their wings and seek another tree. Brent's eyes become big. "Ffftttt Ffftttt Ffftttt" He says, in a perfect replication of the sound they make as they fly away. "Exactly! The sound of feathers" I tell him, and he practices happily for the remainder of the walk.
Memories are made in a moment, or the beating of a wing, but last a lifetime.
"You know it's going to be dark soon, right?"
"Mmmm Hmmmmmm"
So we sit together in the grass and watch the night closing in. The frogs begin their singing down at the pond, and the longer we sit, the stronger we hear them. Two large turkey buzzards light atop a tall oak to bed down for the night. We sit quietly and eat our strawberries. At some point he crawls over into my lap, and go from eating, to just sitting. We watch as the breezes blow through the grass and wheat around us. We swat the occasional gnat from the tips of our noses. We watch as the jet flies high above us, next to the first quarter moon, and hear its engines far behind it.
And then we begin our walk again, disturbing the buzzards when we get too close. They angrily beat their wings and seek another tree. Brent's eyes become big. "Ffftttt Ffftttt Ffftttt" He says, in a perfect replication of the sound they make as they fly away. "Exactly! The sound of feathers" I tell him, and he practices happily for the remainder of the walk.
Memories are made in a moment, or the beating of a wing, but last a lifetime.
3.21.2007
Why I'm getting gray hairs already....
Act 1
I didn't think it could hurt to let him watch Thomas in his room last night as he went to sleep. After all, he had napped late, and was nowhere near sleepy when bedtime came. We had spent some good quality time outside playing in the warm evening. I theorized that this was just a special occasion and he could play quietly and watch for a few minutes. I put him down at 8 pm as usual, pretty much just grabbing him as he ran wildly around the house, as he was so NOWHERE NEAR tired.
I relaxed and vegged out - watched American Idol off and on while nursing a mild headache. Suddenly it was 10:00, and I realized his room had been quiet for about 5 or 10 minutes. I knew I had to go in there and turn the TV off. He appeared to be asleep - eyes closed, head turned to the wall, titi sprawled over his chest.
I crept in...
I carefully turned the DVD off....
I gently turned the TV off...
"MOMMY!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Crap.
I go over and tell him to go back to sleep and give him a kiss. It works. He closes his eyes.
Success!
Act 2
It is the next morning. Bluebirds sing, the sun is rising, the air is mild and sweet with a cool breeze.
I go in and gently wake him as I do each morning, cheerful and sing-song-y.
And then.....
Out of nowhere, piercing screams shatter the morning beauty.
"MOMMY!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!MOMMY!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Tears fly! Arms flail! Legs kick in every direction. I attempt to dress this thing that resembles my son, trying to stay calm. What happened? Did he just accidentally fall asleep before he finished his tantrum the night before?? Isn't the point of sleeping so that you'll RESET for the next day. It seems like to him it is just time that disappears - just a blink in the day when his evil parents force him to wear the awful things known as "jammies" and hide him away in a dungeon (a cushy dungeon mind you, complete with several nightlights, a sippy cup always full of water, and many many toys).
Finally, after several minutes, I break through to him, knowing that he isn't fully awake, even with the LOUDNESS of the screaming. And we pick out our trains for the day and head out as usual, he with his wet reddened face, and me with the eyes wide open "What the hell was that!?" expression.
Just another day.
I didn't think it could hurt to let him watch Thomas in his room last night as he went to sleep. After all, he had napped late, and was nowhere near sleepy when bedtime came. We had spent some good quality time outside playing in the warm evening. I theorized that this was just a special occasion and he could play quietly and watch for a few minutes. I put him down at 8 pm as usual, pretty much just grabbing him as he ran wildly around the house, as he was so NOWHERE NEAR tired.
I relaxed and vegged out - watched American Idol off and on while nursing a mild headache. Suddenly it was 10:00, and I realized his room had been quiet for about 5 or 10 minutes. I knew I had to go in there and turn the TV off. He appeared to be asleep - eyes closed, head turned to the wall, titi sprawled over his chest.
I crept in...
I carefully turned the DVD off....
I gently turned the TV off...
"MOMMY!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Crap.
I go over and tell him to go back to sleep and give him a kiss. It works. He closes his eyes.
Success!
Act 2
It is the next morning. Bluebirds sing, the sun is rising, the air is mild and sweet with a cool breeze.
I go in and gently wake him as I do each morning, cheerful and sing-song-y.
And then.....
Out of nowhere, piercing screams shatter the morning beauty.
"MOMMY!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!MOMMY!!!!! WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Tears fly! Arms flail! Legs kick in every direction. I attempt to dress this thing that resembles my son, trying to stay calm. What happened? Did he just accidentally fall asleep before he finished his tantrum the night before?? Isn't the point of sleeping so that you'll RESET for the next day. It seems like to him it is just time that disappears - just a blink in the day when his evil parents force him to wear the awful things known as "jammies" and hide him away in a dungeon (a cushy dungeon mind you, complete with several nightlights, a sippy cup always full of water, and many many toys).
Finally, after several minutes, I break through to him, knowing that he isn't fully awake, even with the LOUDNESS of the screaming. And we pick out our trains for the day and head out as usual, he with his wet reddened face, and me with the eyes wide open "What the hell was that!?" expression.
Just another day.
3.20.2007
Brent Do That
Thank you for joining us today! I'm your host, John Imbecile, and today's show features an independent two year old, "Brent", and a woman known simply as "Mommy".
Mommy, you're looking a little tired, is everything okay?
"Yes, John, I've just been practicing for this day in and day out for weeks now!"
Sounds like you're going to do well then!
Now what we're going to do is present our returning champion, Brent, with several situations. If he thinks he can do them better than his opponent, he will immediately scream "BENT DO DAT!!!!" and proceed to tackle the problem. It's important, as our champion well knows, to make this statement as loudly and defiantly as possible, to prevent his rival from stepping in and trying to do it correctly - oops! no - I mean, in an alternate fashion. Each round is worth 2 points. Let's see what we have in store for you today.
First up we have an ordinary children's toothbrush. This is used to..
"BENT DO DAT!!!!"
...oh wait! I see someone is on the ball today, ladies and gentlemen! Let's see what our champion has in store for us today. I see he is first sucking all the Thomas Bubblegum Toothpaste off the bristles, and is now attempting to brush the outside of his lips while simultaneously standing up on the toilet and stretching his neck around out of "Mommy's" reach. Don't forget, Mommy, if needed, you do have two "Daddy Stern Voice Buttons" that can be pushed in an emergency. I see she has managed to wrestle the toothbrush away and get some sort of cleaning done on the inside of his mouth, but seeing as our champion snuck a bite of pop-tart shortly thereafter, the points for this round will go to Brent.
Brent: 2
Mommy: 0
Next we have what is known as a shoe. This particular variety is a size 8 and ...
"BENT DO DAT!!!!"
...and again, our champion is off and running! I see some wrestling going on, accompanied by loud grunting and angry eyebrows. It looks like Mommy is going to wait this one out --- several minutes pass --- It seems that Brent has managed to put a shoe on his foot! --- audience applause --- Yes, this is quite an accomplishment! We need to deduct one point for the left shoe being on the right foot, but we do have a winner for this round!
Brent: 3
Mommy: 0
With out champion in the lead, we proceed to our next situation. I'm not sure what the producers were thinking with this one, but it seems our next round involves a bathtub scattered with trains and what appears to be - I need to look at the caption for this one - oh my! It seems there is floating ca-ca in there as well. Mommy is first on the scene with this one, starting first with the 'deposit' on the side of the tub, and then tackling the larger and more gruesome task in the water.
"BENT DO DAT!!!!"
It seems our champion wants to challenge! But wait - oh no - Mommy has used the "Look of Doom" technique. Without a single word spoken, it seems she has fended off her opponent and finished the job at hand. Great job, Mommy!
Brent: 3
Mommy: 2
Well, though we had a good matchup today, it seems our champion will be victorious again. Great job, contestants. And we'll see you bright and early tomorrow for the next episode of BENT DO DAT!
Mommy, you're looking a little tired, is everything okay?
"Yes, John, I've just been practicing for this day in and day out for weeks now!"
Sounds like you're going to do well then!
Now what we're going to do is present our returning champion, Brent, with several situations. If he thinks he can do them better than his opponent, he will immediately scream "BENT DO DAT!!!!" and proceed to tackle the problem. It's important, as our champion well knows, to make this statement as loudly and defiantly as possible, to prevent his rival from stepping in and trying to do it correctly - oops! no - I mean, in an alternate fashion. Each round is worth 2 points. Let's see what we have in store for you today.
First up we have an ordinary children's toothbrush. This is used to..
"BENT DO DAT!!!!"
...oh wait! I see someone is on the ball today, ladies and gentlemen! Let's see what our champion has in store for us today. I see he is first sucking all the Thomas Bubblegum Toothpaste off the bristles, and is now attempting to brush the outside of his lips while simultaneously standing up on the toilet and stretching his neck around out of "Mommy's" reach. Don't forget, Mommy, if needed, you do have two "Daddy Stern Voice Buttons" that can be pushed in an emergency. I see she has managed to wrestle the toothbrush away and get some sort of cleaning done on the inside of his mouth, but seeing as our champion snuck a bite of pop-tart shortly thereafter, the points for this round will go to Brent.
Brent: 2
Mommy: 0
Next we have what is known as a shoe. This particular variety is a size 8 and ...
"BENT DO DAT!!!!"
...and again, our champion is off and running! I see some wrestling going on, accompanied by loud grunting and angry eyebrows. It looks like Mommy is going to wait this one out --- several minutes pass --- It seems that Brent has managed to put a shoe on his foot! --- audience applause --- Yes, this is quite an accomplishment! We need to deduct one point for the left shoe being on the right foot, but we do have a winner for this round!
Brent: 3
Mommy: 0
With out champion in the lead, we proceed to our next situation. I'm not sure what the producers were thinking with this one, but it seems our next round involves a bathtub scattered with trains and what appears to be - I need to look at the caption for this one - oh my! It seems there is floating ca-ca in there as well. Mommy is first on the scene with this one, starting first with the 'deposit' on the side of the tub, and then tackling the larger and more gruesome task in the water.
"BENT DO DAT!!!!"
It seems our champion wants to challenge! But wait - oh no - Mommy has used the "Look of Doom" technique. Without a single word spoken, it seems she has fended off her opponent and finished the job at hand. Great job, Mommy!
Brent: 3
Mommy: 2
Well, though we had a good matchup today, it seems our champion will be victorious again. Great job, contestants. And we'll see you bright and early tomorrow for the next episode of BENT DO DAT!
3.15.2007
Sunrise
This morning was so perfect. The distant dark colors were rising just as we were leaving. The moon was a sliver crescent just above the silhouetted treeline.
As I walked to the car with the tired tiny one on my shoulder, we stopped to take in the beauty of the scene. We listened to the birds singing their morning songs, and watched the slight breeze tickling the leaves.
We started out of the driveway, and I watched in the rearview mirror as he glanced out over the fields. "red....purple....lellow....oringe....blue....purple....red," he whispered softly, as if in a trance. "That's a sunrise," I told him. "Sunwise?," he murmured. Then it was back to that longing, sleepy glance. "Bu-tee-ful... Mommy...," as his eyes gently closed.
As I walked to the car with the tired tiny one on my shoulder, we stopped to take in the beauty of the scene. We listened to the birds singing their morning songs, and watched the slight breeze tickling the leaves.
We started out of the driveway, and I watched in the rearview mirror as he glanced out over the fields. "red....purple....lellow....oringe....blue....purple....red," he whispered softly, as if in a trance. "That's a sunrise," I told him. "Sunwise?," he murmured. Then it was back to that longing, sleepy glance. "Bu-tee-ful... Mommy...," as his eyes gently closed.
Workin' Man
Brent got to come to work with me yesterday. I managed to get a lot done in those 20 hours though. Or was it only 4 hours? It sure felt like 20. Or maybe 200.
I was prepared though! I had two new trains that I bought him, and some playdough, and a Thomas coloring book! I had strawberries and grapes to munch on, and lemonade!
Unfortunately all that only kept him occupied for 3 minutes and 41 seconds.
So for the rest of the hours (and hours and hours), I tried maintaining some sort of perimeter in the room for him to play in. He went and bothered my boss for awhile, who loved it. You never get tired of seeing the wonder on a kids face when they get their first penny pulled from behind their ear! And then he contented himself with washing his trains in the little peaceful water fountain I keep near my desk. I'm still fishing paper clips out of it, but it was worth it. I'm sure the people I was selling topsoil to may have wondered why there was constant babbling in the background, but they never mentioned it. Luckily I have a wonderfully lenient boss, and the afternoon was slow. I got the work done I needed to, and Brent seemed to have a good time.
"Have a good day!" my boss, Barry said as we were leaving. "Good day, Bawwy!" he casually replied.
Then the way home.
"Jeff soup!!!!!"
"Yes, Jeff ate soup today, you're right!"
"Bawwy seeping!!!!!"
"Yes, Barry was sleeping, that's why we had to be so quiet " (well, it worked, so what's the harm)
"Bent starberries!!!!!"
"Yep, you ate lots of strawberries"
"Mommy work!!!!!"
"Yep, we went to Mommy's work today"
"......"
"......"
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
I was prepared though! I had two new trains that I bought him, and some playdough, and a Thomas coloring book! I had strawberries and grapes to munch on, and lemonade!
Unfortunately all that only kept him occupied for 3 minutes and 41 seconds.
So for the rest of the hours (and hours and hours), I tried maintaining some sort of perimeter in the room for him to play in. He went and bothered my boss for awhile, who loved it. You never get tired of seeing the wonder on a kids face when they get their first penny pulled from behind their ear! And then he contented himself with washing his trains in the little peaceful water fountain I keep near my desk. I'm still fishing paper clips out of it, but it was worth it. I'm sure the people I was selling topsoil to may have wondered why there was constant babbling in the background, but they never mentioned it. Luckily I have a wonderfully lenient boss, and the afternoon was slow. I got the work done I needed to, and Brent seemed to have a good time.
"Have a good day!" my boss, Barry said as we were leaving. "Good day, Bawwy!" he casually replied.
Then the way home.
"Jeff soup!!!!!"
"Yes, Jeff ate soup today, you're right!"
"Bawwy seeping!!!!!"
"Yes, Barry was sleeping, that's why we had to be so quiet " (well, it worked, so what's the harm)
"Bent starberries!!!!!"
"Yep, you ate lots of strawberries"
"Mommy work!!!!!"
"Yep, we went to Mommy's work today"
"......"
"......"
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
3.12.2007
Growth
It's funny how quickly it happens. One moment you're carrying around a 10 lb infant - complaining about the heaviness. Then *blink* it's 20 lbs on your hip as you wander through the store, or carry the last few minutes of a nature walk. Then *blink* suddenly a 30 lb toddler is begging to walk during these outings, and the main goal is to keep him close. And the walks turn into pauses between sprints. The lessons for him are endless, the cycles of nature, the boyish shadow following him, the reflection of the sun in dewdrops. The lesson for me is usually patience - learning to lose myself alongside of him in the intricate study of an ordinary leaf or bug - instead of hurrying to the next sight or fussing at him to catch up.
He notices it too lately, this rapid growing and changing. He asks to be held at the strangest times, sometimes laying his head on my shoulder. "Are you a tiny baby again?", I ask. "Mmmm Hmmm" he replies sadly. And I hardly notice the extra weight, and instead cling to the few remaining moments like this one. Being a mom has gone from meeting basic needs, to having conversations and explaining the world. The things I fretted about for so long, such as nighttime bottles, or ridding the world of small dangers and choking hazards, or potty training, have faded away into small accomplishments on the path to something greater. Each day his depth of life increases in every direction.
He played yesterday in the excavated dirt from the addition that is being built onto the house. Handful by tiny handful, he carried grains of sand from one pile and placed them on a brick a few feet away. "Help, mommy? Help Brent?", he asked quite sincerely. "You want me to help you carry dirt?" I asked half laughing "I'm not sure this is a project I can really get into." But then I looked up and saw the pleading in his eyes. This was a big deal, and he just needed a little bit of help. I'm sure the things I ask him to do, like clean up toys or wash his hands, seem just as needless to him. So we carried over handful by handful, until the specified amount was on the brick. Then it was on to the next project, on to studying budding trees, on to more growing up.
*blink*
He notices it too lately, this rapid growing and changing. He asks to be held at the strangest times, sometimes laying his head on my shoulder. "Are you a tiny baby again?", I ask. "Mmmm Hmmm" he replies sadly. And I hardly notice the extra weight, and instead cling to the few remaining moments like this one. Being a mom has gone from meeting basic needs, to having conversations and explaining the world. The things I fretted about for so long, such as nighttime bottles, or ridding the world of small dangers and choking hazards, or potty training, have faded away into small accomplishments on the path to something greater. Each day his depth of life increases in every direction.
He played yesterday in the excavated dirt from the addition that is being built onto the house. Handful by tiny handful, he carried grains of sand from one pile and placed them on a brick a few feet away. "Help, mommy? Help Brent?", he asked quite sincerely. "You want me to help you carry dirt?" I asked half laughing "I'm not sure this is a project I can really get into." But then I looked up and saw the pleading in his eyes. This was a big deal, and he just needed a little bit of help. I'm sure the things I ask him to do, like clean up toys or wash his hands, seem just as needless to him. So we carried over handful by handful, until the specified amount was on the brick. Then it was on to the next project, on to studying budding trees, on to more growing up.
*blink*
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